


golden

by icemakestars



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:20:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23718865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icemakestars/pseuds/icemakestars
Summary: Jellal realises that the dark cannot survive without the light.
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Jellal Fernandes
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26
Collections: Fairy Tail LGBTales, Fairy Tail Rarepairs





	golden

**Author's Note:**

> This is like 4 years old but I found it on my tumblr and realised I hadn't posted it here. I actually dread to think how much is floating around on there that I never formally posted... maybe one day I'll check (probably not).
> 
> So yeah, this is old. It isn't very good, and I don't ship the ship, but whatever. I like to document everything I've written for the sake of comparison so if you've read any of my recent stuff then you can tell my style has changed (hopefully for the better). 
> 
> Whether you enjoy it or not, thanks for reading!

Darkness was a shade. It was the grey in a summer sky, the unidentifiable shadow looming on the corner’s edge, it was the porcelain crunch of bones underfoot. It was the screams that followed. 

For Jellal, it felt almost unescapable; the darkness was more himself than he was, and he could feel it’s inky tendrils cradle his identity until he was the man he saw today, reflected back in the crystalline water’s transparent skinned. His grimace cut through it like a knife, and he turned away in disgust. There was a familiar tightness in his chest, a burning behind his eyes that reminded him that he was _alive_. Still, he did not cry; it had been years since he had allowed himself that luxury, allowed himself to be weak. Every time he cries, his mind was cast back to the Tower. They had beaten the tears out of him then and now, no matter how illogical it was, Jellal would hold them back just to spite the men who had taken pleasure in his misery. He would be _strong_. 

“You’re doing it again.” Natsu observed, lip plumped out into a petulant pout. Jellal had almost forgotten that he was there; it was one of the rare occasions that the Dragon Slayer was still, quiet. Content. 

“Doing what?” Jellal smiled dryly. Natsu sighed. 

“Sulking. Brooding. I don’t know.” He moved to sit next to Jellal, their forearms pressed together, fingertips a wistful breath apart. "I just wish you would talk to me.“ 

Natsu tilted his head, pink hair falling defiantly into his sage coloured eyes. His smile was earnest, and Jellal felt a pressure on his windpipe that he just could not swallow. 

When he and Natsu had first met, he had been at the lowest point in his life. Even as a slave he had kept his integrity, the thing that made him fundamentally himself. What he did to Natsu and Erza and all of his friends whom he had kept trapped inside his own insanity was inexcusable, unforgivable. And yet, Natsu /had/ forgiven him, had extended his hand to Jellal, offering to let him walk in the light. That was the true display of strength; a forgiveness so pure it did not care for the darkness that threatened it. It forced redemption, ensuring that Jellal knew without a shadow of doubt that Natsu beloved in him, cared for him. 

If that was not enough to encourage Jellal to be a better man then he did not know what was. 

Being with Natsu was like bathing in fire, and with every passing second Jellal felt his sins of the past turning to ash, being replaced by the searing heat of Natsu’s lips against his lips and Natsu’s skin against his skin. Natsu was forging Jellal into something new, and Jellal did not want it to stop. 

"I’m in love with you." 

Jellal knew that Natsu’s shocked expression mirrored his own, as this was not something he was intending on saying. However, Jellal felt the truth of his words in the golden light that coursed through his veins at the sight of Natsu’s soft blush, and the way that his inhibited grin made Jellal feel light; invincible. 

Surging forward, Natsu pressed their mouths together. Teeth bumped, and Jellal’s nose was folded awkwardly between them, but it was still perfect in the same imperfect way that everything about them together was. 

"I love you, too.” It was a breath carried along on the gentle breeze that ruffled Jellal’s hair and clothes, and yet the soft whisper held promises of more time, more kisses, more growth. 

Jellal leant in again and Natsu met him halfway, like he always had. Their fingers instinctively found each other, and Jellal allowed himself the privilege of taking in the sweetness of Natsu’s breath, the warmth of his touch. He was hardly surprised to find the Dragon Slayer crying, and what he saw in himself as a sign of weakness, he saw in Natsu as a symbol of courage. Jellal one day wanted to be that expressive and open with his emotions, and with the sound of water lapping languidly against his boots, and Natsu’s touch growing more insistent and urgent, he knew that that was a goal which they could work towards together.


End file.
